Chinese rescue ship fails to reach stuck Antarctic vessel

A Chinese icebreaker sent to rescue the people on board a Antarctic ship
trapped in ice has been forced to turn back with sight of the stuck vessel

1:48PM GMT 28 Dec 2013

A Chinese icebreaker that was en route to rescue a ship trapped in Antarctic ice was forced to turn back on Saturday after being unable to push its way through the heavy sea ice.

The Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been on a research expedition to Antarctica, got stuck on Tuesday after a blizzard's winds pushed sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place.

Expedition leader Chris Turney said Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon was still in sight, but it is now waiting for another icebreaker to help it break through ice.

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition scientific team on board of the vessel, which had been recreating Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's voyage to Antarctica 100 years ago, are keeping themselves busy.

The Snow Dragon icebreaker, which was forced to retreat, had to do so to avoid mirroring MV Akademik Shokalskiy's fate - according to an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesperson.